Help with Paxil withdrawal?

[brandy681]

I have been taking a very HIGH 120-150 mg Paxil which is twice the recommended dose. I came off cold turkey but immediately took Zoloft which is for anxiety also. I was taking 1000 mg just to feel half normal. I was still jumpy and jittery and had the worse migraine that you could ever know. It was excruciating!!!  I mean my temp was up, I thought my brain was about to explode. My heart was racing. I was told that if I did not have the Zoloft that I would of died. My blood pressure was also high. I was also taking Elavil, Tylenol, prescription ibuprophen and pain meds. It could not touch the pain. I had body aches too. The panic attacks came back and I've been off the Paxil for a few weeks. I've been through hell. Is there any medication treatment for me to get off the Zoloft because its not working, it is because it would be worse without it but I need help? I tried a taper and it doesn't work. I'm afraid that I will have to go back to Paxil for life. It only lasts a few hours for anxiety relief and its an evil drug. I want to be free and have a baby but have to be free first. I withdrawn from Loratab before but as painful as that was,,, this was a heck of a lot more painful. It's like the worse panic attack you have ever had x100 24/7...  ALL DAY !!! Overwhelming doom, death, suicidal, anger, etc... You will beg to die! Why this medication is not a controlled substance who knows! :( any non addictive meds to help?0

[brandy681]

Thank you.. :) I got a severe headache and a really high fever the other day and I had rapid heart beat, hand tremors and constant panic attacks. My blood pressure and heart rate went up so high. I went to the ER and they told me that I could have died but the dr was sure it was just anxiety because he said Paxil is safe. He said I should have no withdrawals. Well when I went back on Paxil it all stopped. The migraines I had, I just knew I had a brain tumor but didn't. It was severe 24/7 headaches!! The flushing was bad too. I took Loratab years back and came off and had 3 days of withdrawals but with the Paxil, the withdrawals don't end. I was told mine were severe and would last 3 months to 3 years but probably years and the withdrawals would start to diminish slightly after a year. Oh the pain was unreal. Constantly feeling like I was going to die, migraines, backaches, crying, anxiety and just plain hell. Loratab was a walk in the park as far as the withdrawals of Paxil. I am back on Paxil but the half life is so short that I have to take doves every three hours, lower doses. I honestly believe that I will in fact die without this drug. What's strange is that the drug don't make you high or euphoric but just eases the panic attacks some but can make withdrawals horrible.

[alex1234]

Another thing is ssri medications are not meant for quick fixes of anxiety like Xanax ... It's too keep your serotonin levels at a consistent level.  Again please see a good psych to help you... I've been taking Paxil for a long time and when I try to wean I get terrible wd , dizzy, electric shocks, nauseated etc... I'm currently at 30mg.... Which is a medium to high dose.

[alex1234]

That's a very high dosage of Paxil... even at a low dose of Paxil you have to be slowly tapered off of it... The half life is very short. 12 years ago there was a class action lawsuit do to the impossibility of getting off it without withdrawals that actually killed a few people. Please see a good psychiatrist to help you with this. There is a website on Paxil tapering... It may take a year but you have to see a doctor who knows about Paxil and ssri wd, not all drs are knowledgable in this.